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A year after losing 63 House seats, Democrats are eyeing a comeback in 2012, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel is telling his incumbents and recruits to "run like a mayor."

"There is a strong anti-incumbent mood in this country, people want problem-solvers, less ideology and more solutions," the New York congressman (pictured) said at a briefing with reporters Friday. His committee, which is tasked with getting Democrats elected to the House -- and, in this cycle, winning back the majority -- is encouraging candidates to "talk about solving people's problems. That's why we've recruited the class we’ve recruited. If you run like a mayor, you can win. If you run like an ideologue in this environment, if you run like an incumbent in this environment, it’s going to be a challenge, and [Republicans] have more incumbents than we have.”

Democrats want to steer House races back to what they were traditionally about: local issues and addressing concerns of the constituents. Democrats on the Senate side are embracing a similar strategy, and want to make each election a choice between the two people in the race rather than a referendum on President Obama.

But unlike their colleagues involved in the Senate campaign operation, House Democrats don’t have a majority to protect and are therefore directing their attacks at the party in charge. When Republicans take aim at Obama and the Democratic agenda in these races, Democrats will counter that voter anger is directed more toward congressional Republicans than at the president.

“If I were the House Republicans, I’d be more worried about House Republicans’ numbers than the president’s numbers,” said Israel, who is encouraged by the results of recent polls showing a Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot.

“The president’s numbers need to improve,” he conceded. “But House Republican numbers are toxic.”

Democrats need to have a net gain of 25 seats in order to reclaim the majority they lost in the 2010 midterms. In recent weeks, the DCCC has met its recruiting deadline early, outraised its Republican counterpart, and brought its recruits to Washington, D.C., for pep talks and training. And on Monday, the committee will run radio ads targeting 25 House Republicans -- in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and West Virginia -- on ethics issues or votes that they claim threaten the middle class and seniors. NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos countered in a statement, arguing that "the devastating effects of Washington Democrats’ job-crushing policies" are hurting struggling middle class families.

An ad that will run in Florida’s 13th District, for example, cites an independent watchdog group attacking Vern Buchanan as “one of the most corrupt members of Congress.” The campaign includes Web ads and both live and robo calls.

Democrats are also specifically targeting Republican-controlled districts that backed both John Kerry and Barack Obama in the past two presidential elections. Ongoing redistricting has left much of the map in flux, but Israel predicts that when the new districts are finalized, the amount of Democratic and Republican seats gained will be a wash.

(On the subject of redistricting, Israel said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer should be impeached after the state’s independent chair of the redistricting commission was removed. “I think the people of Arizona should impeach Jan Brewer for what she did,” he said.)

Though Democrats see some advantages heading into 2012, the climb to 25 remains a tough, uphill endeavor. Israel told RealClearPolitics in an interview last month that the battle for the majority will be “razor close.” Democrats can’t take anything for granted, and as Israel is well aware, they have to defend their own incumbents even if they have fewer of them. (In the same interview last month, Israel said Democrats have 12-15 vulnerable incumbents.) Fifteen Democratic retirements -- many in conservative districts -- could also complicate the party’s chances. Several members of the moderate Blue Dog coalition are leaving at the end of their terms, and the group lost half its members in the last cycle. But Israel is confident that their recruits will hold up in those areas that are increasingly difficult for Democrats to claim.

“We know how to win in those tough districts, we’ve gotten the mechanics right in those districts,” Israel said. “We’ve got the fundamentals covered. . . . We know how to win the hard races.” He also said he is “very confident” North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler, who has been at the center of retirement rumors, will run for re-election.

A year out from the 2012 election, Israel said, Democrats have “a sustained breeze at our back.”